Controller and Steam Deck

Controller & Steam Deck (Experimental)

⚠️ Experimental / community-contributed. Smart! was built for keyboard + mouse and has no official controller bindings — you map its keys with Steam Input (Steam's per-game controller layout editor). As of 34.2.0 the mod does ship one setting made for controllers: Tap to Toggle Transform Modes (see below), which makes a Steam Input radial menu drive Smart!'s modes natively. Feedback and better layouts are very welcome in the Discord #help channel.

Why this works with no conflicts

Base-game Satisfactory build mode only uses the face buttons, triggers, D-pad, and sticks. It leaves the Steam Deck's most useful surfaces completely free: both trackpads, all four back paddles (L4/L5/R4/R5), and gyro. Put every Smart! bind on those unused surfaces and leave the native buttons alone, and Smart! adds zero conflict with normal building and movement.

If you ever see native controller actions "break" after setting this up, it's almost always because a native button got remapped in Steam Input — not the mod. Keep ABXY / triggers / D-pad on their defaults and only add Smart! binds to the trackpads, paddles, and gyro.

The single most important binding: the Smart Panel

The highest-leverage thing you can do is bind one button to the Smart Panel (default key K). The Panel is a full on-screen form you navigate with the stick + A, and it exposes every Smart! feature — all scaling axes, spacing, steps, stagger, rotation, recipe, restore, and toggles — with no key-holding at all. If you do nothing else, this alone makes Smart! usable on a controller.

Recommended Steam Deck layout

Surface	Smart! binding
R5 (back paddle)	Smart Panel — keyboard K (full feature access)
L4 (hold)	X-axis modifier — hold keyboard X
L5 (hold)	Y-axis modifier — hold keyboard Z
L4 + L5 (hold both)	Z-axis — X+Z together
R4 (hold)	Bulk dismantle — hold Left Ctrl
Right trackpad — swipe	Mouse-wheel emulation → adjusts the held axis / active mode (and vanilla rotate when no mode is active)
Left trackpad — radial	The numpad: Num 8/Num 5 (X ±), Num 6/Num 4 (Y ±), Num 9/Num 3 (Z ±), Num 0 (cycle axis), Num 1 (toggle arrows)
Right trackpad — click	"Smart Modes" radial: ; I Y , U — turn on Tap to Toggle Transform Modes and each pick latches its mode (see below)
Gyro (optional)	Mouse aim for fine build-gun pointing

With just the paddles + two trackpads, you get: all discrete scaling (left-pad radial), continuous scaling (paddle + right-pad wheel), axis cycling, arrow toggle, bulk dismantle, and — via the Panel on R5 — literally everything else. Native movement/build controls stay on the normal buttons.

Step-by-step setup (Steam Input)

1. In Steam, select Satisfactory → ⚙ (Controller Settings) → Edit Layout.
2. Start from the built-in Gamepad template so native build controls are preserved.
3. Turn on Back Grip Buttons for the build action set.
4. Assign the paddles: R5 → K; L4 → X (hold); L5 → Z (hold); R4 → Left Ctrl (hold). (L4 + L5 pressed together naturally sends X+Z = the Z axis.)
5. Left trackpad → add a Radial Menu, 8 items, bound to Num 8, Num 5, Num 6, Num 4, Num 9, Num 3, Num 0, Num 1. Label them X+, X−, Y+, Y−, Z+, Z−, Cycle Axis, Arrows.
6. Right trackpad → set the touch behavior to Mouse Wheel (this drives live scaling and value changes). Optionally set the click behavior to a second radial for modes (see below).
7. (Optional) set Gyro to "As Mouse", gated behind a button or trackpad touch, for fine aim.
8. Save, and if you like, Export/Publish it as a community layout so others can grab it.

Transform modes on a controller: Tap to Toggle

Smart!'s transform modes — Spacing (;), Steps (I), Stagger (Y), Rotation (,), Recipe (U on a factory) — are normally hold-to-activate: you hold the key while scrolling. A Steam Input radial selection is a momentary tap, so a radial can't hold a key for you. That's what the Tap to Toggle Transform Modes setting is for (Mods → Smart! → Building Behavior, off by default; added in 34.2.0 — issue #482).

With the setting on:

• Tap a mode key once → the mode switches on and stays on. Scroll the right trackpad (mouse wheel) to adjust; the numpad radial's Num 0 still cycles the mode's axis/target.
• Tap the same key again → the mode switches off and the hologram is released.
• Tap a different mode key → it switches modes directly — exactly what a "Smart Modes" radial wants. One radial with ; I Y , U gives you the whole modal surface, tap by tap.
• The HUD shows the active mode the same way it does for a held key, so you always see what a scroll will change.

Things that always release a latched mode (so you can't get stuck in one): putting the build gun away, leaving build mode, switching to a different building, or opening any Smart! panel. Placing a building and continuing with the same building keeps the mode on — just like holding the key through the placement would.

A few boundaries to know:

• U latches only on factories (Recipe mode). On splitters/mergers, junctions, supports, and power poles, U opens the Auto-Connect settings walker and remains hold-to-use — bind it to a paddle you can hold if you use that surface a lot (or use the Smart Panel, which covers it all).
• With the setting off, everything behaves exactly as it always has — holds, plus the quick re-tap-of-a-held-key gesture that cycles the target. (In tap-to-toggle, re-tapping exits the mode instead; use Num 0 on the left-pad radial to cycle targets.)
• If anything ever feels wrong, just switch the setting off — it's fully self-contained, and the classic hold behavior returns instantly. Then please tell us in #help what happened.

The Smart Panel (R5 → K) remains the zero-setup alternative: every mode and value in one form, no holding, no latching, works regardless of this setting.

Steam Controller (original) variant

The original Steam Controller has only two grip paddles, one stick, and two trackpads (the left one clickable), so it leans harder on the Panel:

• Left grip → X (axis modifier) • Right grip → K (Smart Panel)
• Left trackpad (click radial) → the numpad numbers radial (as above)
• Right trackpad → mouse wheel (live adjust) — it's already the "mouse" pad
• Use a Mode Shift (hold left grip) to expose a second radial for the mode keys + Left Ctrl dismantle

Known quirks

• Input prompts may flicker between controller and keyboard/mouse icons: Smart! binds are keyboard keys sent by Steam Input, so Satisfactory sees "mixed" input. Cosmetic only.
• Trackpad scroll can feel jumpy (up/down flips) depending on your Mouse Wheel settings — try lowering the wheel sensitivity or switching the pad to a scroll-wheel region rather than swipe. A directional-swipe alternative is being considered.
• Found something else? Tell us in #help — this page evolves with your reports.

Credits

The community pioneered this — big thanks to BartekS, whose Smart! combos Steam layout and experimentation shaped the mapping above, and to The teacher for pushing on big-factory Deck play. If you build a better layout, please share it in #help.

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Last updated: 2026-07-14 · Smart! v34.2.1